Big Wish

May 2, 2016
Sam’s first day of middle school gets off to a rocky start when he and his best friend, Evan, have a run-in with school bully Scorpus. Then Sam learns that his father may lose his job. While walking the dog that evening, Sam makes a wish on a shooting star: the classic don’t-do-it “wish for a million wishes.” As with many wish-themed stories, things start out great: Sam secures a job for his father, heals Evan’s terminally ill father, and stands up to Scorpus. But some wishes (like acquiring superpowers) prove to be disappointing, and others (like banishing death) have consequences Sam never imagined. British author Robshaw effectively taps into a sense of youthful powerlessness that many readers will relate to. While the story charts a predictable course, Robshaw balances humorous, wish-driven disasters (such as Sam shrinking himself down to a height of five inches and promptly being snatched up by a bird) with touching moments, while reflecting on what it might truly mean to have near-omnipotent power. Ages 8–12.

April 15, 2016
Life gets dull when all your wishes come true. That's what sixth-grader Sam discovers after his wish for a million wishes comes true. At first, the white boy's desires are those of any middle school boy--besting bullies, acquiring large sums of money and superpowers, experimenting with being very large and very small, and flying. He improves things for others in his family: his father's job, his mother's art career, his sister's boyfriend, his brother's nits. Eventually, prompted by his best friend, Evan, he turns to problems in the larger world: he cures Evan's terminally ill father, changes things in a bullying schoolmate's home, experiments with trying to make everyone in the world nice, and bans death. It's not until he tries to ban all problems that he realizes that problems are part of life; now his biggest problem is to get rid of all his remaining wishes. This English import includes both interesting philosophical musings about the consequences of wishing and speculations about practical consequences: a giant-sized fast-food burger is nearly inedible; while tiny, Sam is carried away by a sparrow hawk. Sam's voice is young and believably self-centered, but he does learn that things are better when you have to work for them. The appealing premise and occasional humor will probably carry readers past the obvious message of this predictable account of wish-fulfillment gone awry. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 3-6-As Sam and his dad are watching the night sky, Sam sees a shooting star and decides to wish for a million wishes. The next day, he realizes that once he says a wish out loud it comes true-he wants a day off from school, then school is cancelled. Using his wishes, Sam attacks the school bully, becomes a superhero, fixes his sister's boyfriend troubles, gets his dad a promotion, and even cures his best friend's terminally ill dad. Some of the violence is over-the-top; Sam literally smashes the bully, drops his sister from 60 feet above the ground, and sends his best friend off with a bird of prey. He has to repair the damage to their bodies with more wishes. Near the end, Sam realizes that the only wishes that bring him satisfaction are the ones that help other people, but even that falls short when he asks to end human death. The theme of the story is thought provoking, but Sam's moral dilemma about how to use up so many wishes is addressed only in a few short pages at the end. Readers are not given enough time to watch Sam learn from his mistakes.

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